Asia Pacific Business Review,

Vol. 12, No. 1, 39–51, January 2006

Munificence of Parent Corporate

Contexts and Expatriate Cross-Cultural
Training in China
JAN SELMER
Aarhus School of Business, Aarhus, Denmark

ABSTRACT The practice of providing expatriates with cross-cultural training varies widely among
business corporations. To examine the proposition that some characteristics of the parent
corporation context could be munificent to the practice of providing cross-cultural training, a mail
survey was addressed to business expatriates in China. Surprisingly, the results showed no
association between corporate size, international stake, and international experience on the one
hand and the extent to which the expatriates had received cross-cultural training on the other hand.
Although an ad hoc analysis found a positive relationship between international experience and
the provision of sequential cross-cultural training, there was no association between any of the
variables depicting corporate context and predeparture or postarrival training. The findings and
their implications are discussed in detail.

KEY WORDS : Corporate contexts, cross-cultural training, China

Introduction
For many businesses, a global presence is the key to their survival. To coordinate
and control worldwide operations, corporations often use expatriates in a variety of
ways (cf. Black & Gregersen, 1999). These business expatriates need to be prepared
for life and work in another country with a different cultural and institutional
environment. To simply transfer managerial practices from the parent country to the
foreign business operation is seldom advisable. Instead, expatriates must be flexible
and be prepared to adapt the\ir managerial practices (cf. Feldman & Bolino, 1999;
Tung, 1998). What works well in one country may have little effect or even result in
harmful consequences in another culture (cf. Black & Porter, 1991; Ralston et al.,
1995). Trying to support expatriates’ adjustment and performance, corporations
can provide them with cross-cultural training. However, while some corporations
routinely provide such training to their expatriates, other companies assign their
employees to all parts of the world without any training at all (cf. Black et al., 1991;
Black et al., 1992; Black & Gregersen, 1999). This variation in practices of making
use of expatriate cross-cultural training may simply reflect the widely varying
findings of studies examining the effectiveness of such training. While some studies

Correspondence Address: Jan Selmer, Department of Management and International Business (MIB), Aarhus
School of Business Fuglesangs Allé 4, DK-8210 Aarhus V, Denmark. Email: selmer@asb.dk

1360-2381 Print/1743-792X Online/06/010039-13 q 2006 Taylor & Francis

DOI: 10.1080/13602380500337002
40 J. Selmer

have found cross-cultural training highly effective, other results point at a

negligible or even negative correlation between training and various outcome
variables. In the case of corporations that apply cross-cultural training, despite the
doubtful results of such training, there could be some aspects of the corporate
context that are munificent to cross-cultural training. Parent corporations with such
characteristics may to a higher degree than others provide their expatriates with
cross-cultural training.
Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the association between
potentially munificent corporate contexts and to what extent their business
expatriates receive cross-cultural training. This is both relevant and important.
Despite the varying corporate practice and the potential beneficial outcomes of
cross-cultural training, no study is known to have investigated the underlying
reasons for these differences. Hence, this investigation is necessary to try to begin
to understand why corporate practices differ with respect to cross-cultural
training.
The place of investigation is mainland China and data was collected from
business expatriates assigned to China by western corporations. China may be
experienced as a challenging host location. From a western perspective, China is
frequently regarded as the most foreign of all foreign places. Chinese culture,
institutions, and people may appear completely baffling (Chen, 2001). Also the
development and practices of Chinese management have been heavily influenced
by the ancient cultural traditions of the country (cf. Fang, 1999; Wang, 2000;
Lowe, 2003). Hence, China seems to be a suitable host destination for this study
since the apparent need for effective cross-cultural skills of the western business
expatriates, both at work and outside, could be substantial.

Effectiveness and Practice of Expatriate Cross-Cultural Training

Many studies recommend expatriates to undergo cross-cultural training (cf. Black
& Mendenhall, 1990; Hammer & Martin, 1990; Gregersen & Black, 1992; Oddou,
1991; Berry et al., 1993; Naumann, 1993). However, the empirical support for the
effectiveness of such training varies widely. Studies have found correlations
between expatriate cross-cultural training and expatriate adjustment ranging
between r ¼ -.42 (Black, 1988) and r ¼ .57 (Early, 1987). Similarly, correlations
between training and performance range from r ¼ 2 .08 (Black & Gregersen,
1991) to r ¼ .79 (Early, 1994). Furthermore, claims of methodological
shortcomings (Kealy & Protheroe, 1996), narrowness in scope, and the use of
other sojourners than expatriate managers as respondents have made findings
of empirical studies doubtful (Caligiuri et al., 2001). These misgivings may also
be reflected in the practice of international corporations. It was previously
reported that few firms provided their expatriate managers with any cross-cultural
training (cf. Tung, 1981; Mendenhall et al., 1987; Dunbar & Katcher, 1990).
However, a more recent survey of US and other western corporations found that
most of the sampled firms provide at least a one-day cross-cultural training
programme to their expatriates (Global Relocation Services, 2002). Consequently,
international corporations seem to be ambivalent on the usefulness of cross-
cultural training leading to a considerable variation in the practice of providing
 Munificence of Parent Corporate Contexts 41

training to their expatriates. Some firms may assume that ‘good persons always
manage’, preferring a learning-by-doing approach (Black & Mendenhall, 1990;
Brewster, 1995; Kühlmann, 2001), while others provide cross-cultural training on
a routine basis as part of a standardized expatriation process. The choice whether
to apply training or not could be based on the specific circumstances of the parent
corporation. Certain aspects of the corporate context in some firms may be
munificent to expatriate cross-cultural training.
In the following section, a number of hypotheses exploring the association
between such potentially munificent corporate contexts and cross-cultural training
of business expatriates are developed.

Munificent Corporate Contexts and Expatriate Cross-Cultural Training

Some characteristics of the parent corporation may potentially influence the extent
to which expatriates receive cross-cultural training. In this study, three such
potentially munificent corporate contexts will be examined: the size of the parent
corporation (corporate size), the extent of the stake of the international operations
(international stake), and the amount of experience of international operations
(international experience).

Corporate Size
It is reasonable to assume that the size of the corporation may influence to what
extent expatriates receive cross-cultural training. As opposed to small firms, large
corporations would typically have substantial discretionary financial resources
to cover training costs. A study of 32 Fortune 500 companies revealed that
94 per cent of these firms at least offered language training for their expatriate
candidates and 64 per cent offered some additional form of cross-cultural training
(Cuthill, 1997). Increasingly, web-based and CD-ROM-based media are
becoming available (Mendenhall & Stahl, 2000). Such training typically has a
flat fee pricing model likely to be more appealing to large than small
organizations (Morris & Robie, 2001). Big corporations may also lower the costs
per participant by leveraging their greater training needs and purchasing power.
Last, but not least, expatriation in large corporations could involve more
standardized routines and procedures than small firms which may entail some
kind of cross-cultural training or preparation. These various observations provide
a basis for Hypothesis 1.
Hypothesis 1: There is a positive relationship between corporate size
and the extent to which expatriates receive cross-cultural
training.

International Stake
The share of the international operations of a corporation could also have an
impact on the degree to which the expatriates are trained cross-culturally. Parent
corporations with a large international stake will be well motivated to maintain
and develop their global ventures. Hence, they may try to use cross-cultural
42 J. Selmer

training to ensure that their expatriates have the requisite skills, knowledge and
attitudes to perform effectively in a foreign cultural business context. Similarly,
firms with a large proportion of expatriate managers could have good reasons to
try to support foreign assignment success and to prevent failure by means of cross-
cultural training (Bennet et al., 2000). It has been repeatedly argued that while
there is no lack of business strategies to operate global business ventures
effectively, there is a dearth of human capability to implement them (cf. Bartlett &
Goshal, 1987, 1990, 1992; Adler & Bartholomew, 1992; Brake, 1997). While it is
not easy to locate internationally competent managers today, some researchers
have warned that the situation may get worse and that most multinationals could
encounter a serious shortage of global leaders in the near future (Gregersen et al.,
1998). Executive international assignment experience is rare, valuable and
difficult to imitate. It can create unique competitive advantage for the firm and
help to ensure a supply of internationally seasoned candidates for future executive
positions. Executives with international assignment experience could constitute a
crucial resource for firms competing worldwide (Carpenter et al., 2000). Not to
discourage suitable candidates to seek top positions, especially firms with a high
international stake may try to use cross-cultural training to achieve a successful
outcome of the foreign assignment. This discussion leads to Hypothesis 2.

Hypothesis 2: There is a positive relationship between a corporation’s

international stake and the extent to which expatriates
receive cross-cultural training.

International Experience
The amount of international experience of a corporation could be a determining
factor as well as to the extent cross-cultural training is received by its expatriates.
Internationally seasoned corporations may suspect that by failing to provide
expatriates with cross-cultural training, they may unintentionally create the wrong
impression that there are no major differences between the parent and the host
cultural context. Therefore, expatriates may mistakenly assume that there is no
need to adjust their behaviour and management style at the host location (Black &
Porter, 1991). Needless to say, this may result in enhanced foreign assignment
failures, providing an incentive for internationally versed corporations to include
cross-cultural training as a standardized element in dealing with expatriation to all
foreign countries, also neighbouring locations. That may be justified, since
previous research has suggested that it may be as difficult to adjust to a similar as a
dissimilar host culture (Selmer, 2002; Selmer, in press; Selmer & Shui, 1999).
Internationally experienced firms may also be more familiar with the fast growing
training industry. Great advances have been made over the past three decades in
the design and delivery of quality cross-cultural training programmes. Although it
is now possible to train effectively a large group of managers, it is dependent on
the will of the top management. Such training programmes are not likely to be
created and implemented without firm corporate support (Mendenhall & Stahl,
2000). Hence, internationally knowledgeable top management teams may be more
committed to train their expatriates than corporations without much global
 Munificence of Parent Corporate Contexts 43

experience. New forms of cross-cultural training have also facilitated such an

undertaking. Various kinds of self-training packages via multimedia software and
the Internet have become available. Some of this software may fill gaps in current
training practices like, for example, including the whole family in the training
programme. Others apply computer-assisted learning to old concepts like the
intercultural sensitizers or culture assimilator (cf. Albert, 1983; Black &
Mendenhall, 1990; Cushner & Landis, 1996). Consulting firms increasingly sell
their products, questionnaires, information and other services through the Internet.
However, one of the most valuable novelties in cross-cultural self-training is
homepages that are constructed by expatriates themselves (Mendenhall & Stahl,
2000). It is likely that corporations with international experience would be more
willing to financially and otherwise support such expatriate cross-cultural self-
training than firms without much experience of the global business arena.
The discussion above supports Hypotheses 3.
Hypothesis 3: There is a positive relationship between a corporation’s
international experience and the extent to which
expatriates receive cross-cultural training.

Method
Sample
Data for this study was extracted from a mail questionnaire directed at expatriates
working for western business corporations in China. There were 165 returned
questionnaires, representing a response rate of 25.2 per cent. This is not high, but
compared to some other mail surveys of business expatriates, this represents a
respectable figure (cf. Naumann, 1993; Harzing, 1997).
The average total turnover of the studied parent corporations was US$40214.07
million (SD ¼ 281726.20) and the average share of that turnover generated in
foreign operations was 56.57 per cent (SD ¼ 28.28). On average, the international
experience of the investigated parent corporations was 53.00 years (SD ¼ 44.14),
they operated on average in 53.46 countries (SD ¼ 87.51), and, on average, the
mean share of expatriates of all managers working for the studied parent
corporations was 17.96 per cent (SD ¼ 26.95). There were 41 (25.3 per cent)
parent corporations from the United States, 22 (13.6 per cent) from Germany,
15 (9.3 per cent) from Britain, 9 (5.6 per cent) from Australia, 9 (5.6 per cent)
from France and the rest from various western countries. The operations covered
most of the 23 provinces of China, but the locations of Beijing, Shanghai and
Guangzhou dominated.

Instrument
All variables were measured by direct, single questions. The dependent variable,
cross-cultural training was dichotomized. Having received training ¼ 1 and
having received no training ¼ 0. The independent variables were all continuous.
There was one variable depicting corporate size: total turnover (million US$) of
the parent corporation. There were two variables representing the international
44 J. Selmer

stake of the parent corporation: percentage of turnover from foreign operations

(per cent) and percentage of expatriate managers (per cent). Also in the case
of international experience, there were two variables: number of years of
international operations (years) and number of countries of operations (number).

Results
Table 1 provides sample means, standard deviations and zero-order correlations.
There were no significant associations between the independent variable and any
of the dependent variables, providing no preliminary support for the research
question. On the other hand, there were two significant associations among the
independent variables. Not surprisingly, there was a positive relationship between
number of countries of operation and number of years of international operations
(r ¼ .22; p , .01), implying that with longer periods of international operations,
parent corporations may expand operations to more countries. There was also a
positive association between the percentage of expatriate managers and the
percentage of turnover from foreign operations (r ¼ .35; p , .001) suggesting
that the larger the international stake, the more parent corporations may want to
monitor, control and protect such business operations with their own parent
nationals.
Hierarchical multiple regression was used to formally test the hypotheses.
In the first step, the independent variable depicting the corporate size of the parent
corporate organization, measured as the total turnover was entered. The two
predictor variables depicting the international stake of the parent corporation,
percentage of turnover from the foreign operations and percentage of expatriate
managers, were entered in the second step. In the third step, the two independent
variables representing the international experience of the parent corporation,
number of years of international operations and number of countries of operations

Table 1. Means, standard deviations, and correlations among the variables

Variables Mean SD 1 2 3 4 5 6
1
1. Cross-cultural training .24 .43 1.00
Corporate Size
2. Turnover (M$) 40214.07 281726.20 2 .04 1.00
International Stake
3. Percentage of turnover 56.57 28.28 2 .07 .06 1.00
from foreign operations
4. Percentage of expatriate 17.96 26.95 2 .09 2 .07 .35*** 1.00
managers
International Experience
5. Number of years of 53.00 44.14 2 .03 .07 2.02 2.08 1.00
international operations
6. Number of countries 53.46 87.51 .07 .02 .02 .07 .22** 1.00
of operations
1
Training ¼ 1; No Training ¼ 0
** p , .01; *** p , .001 (2-tailed)
 Munificence of Parent Corporate Contexts 45

were entered. As displayed by Table 2, none of these variables had any

statistically significant association with the dependent variable, cross-cultural
training. This confirms the lack of support for any of the stated hypotheses, as was
first indicated above. The change in F was small and not significant in any of the
three steps. Furthermore, the overall explained variance in the dependent variable
was negligible and the overall F-value was non-significant. This strongly suggests
that there may be other circumstances influencing cross-cultural training more
than the parent corporate context.
To explore further possible associations between the variables representing the
parent corporate context and cross-cultural training, different types of such training
were compared in an ad hoc analysis. Based on timing of the training administered,
the following three kinds of cross-cultural training were identified: predeparture
cross-cultural training (only administered before the respondent’s departure to
China), postarrival cross-cultural training (only received after the expatriate had
arrived in China), and sequential cross-cultural training (combining both
predeparture and postarrival training) (Selmer et al., 1998). An equivalent
hierarchical multiple regression analysis as above was performed for each of these
types of cross-cultural training. Table 3 displays the findings. Both the regression of
the independent variables on predeparture and postarrival cross-cultural training
failed to produce any significant results. Besides, the change in F was small and
non-significant in both cases for all steps. The overall explained amount of variance
was again negligible in both cases and none of the two F-values were significant. On
the other hand, regressing the independent variables on sequential cross-cultural
training yielded some significant results. The third step, introducing the two
variables depicting the international experience of the parent corporation, produced
a significant change in F explaining 12 per cent of the variance in the dependent
variable. The independent variable, number of countries of operations, was found to
have a positive association with the dependent variable, sequential cross-cultural
training (beta ¼ .36; p , .01). All together, the predictor variables explained

Table 2. Parent corporate context regressed on cross-cultural training

Cross-Cultural
Training
Predictor Variables b DR 2 DF
Corporate Size .00 .75
Turnover (M$) 2.05
International Stake .01 .54
Percentage of turnover from foreign operations 2.03
Percentage of expatriate managers 2.11
International Experience .02 .45
Number of years of international operations 2.02
Number of countries of operations .14
R .18
R2 .03
Adjusted R 2 2.02
F .59
 46
J. Selmer

Table 3. Parent corporate context regressed on types of cross-cultural training

Pre departure Post arrival Sequential

Predictor Variables b DR 2 DF b DR 2 DF b DR 2 DF
Corporate Size .00 .00 .00 .08 .00 .12
Turnover (M$) 2 .01 2.01 2.06
International Stake .02 .73 .03 1.33 .01 .50
Percentage of Turnover From Foreign Operations .00 2.12 .05
Percentage of Expatriate Managers 2 .11 2.08 .04
International Experience .01 .27 .01 .27 .12 6.23**
Number of Years of International Operations .07 2.06 2.08
Number of Countries of Operations 2 .06 2.03 .36**
R .18 .15 .37
R2 .03 .02 .13
Adjusted R 2 2 .02 2.03 .09
F .59 .39 2.74*

*p , .05; ** p , .01
 Munificence of Parent Corporate Contexts 47

13 per cent of the variance of the dependent variable and the F-value was significant
(F ¼ 2.74; p , .05), indicating a good data fit. This finding seems to suggest that,
at least, a certain kind of corporate context could be munificent for a certain kind of
cross-cultural training. The results will be further discussed below.

Discussion
The main findings of this study are surprising. None of the potentially munificent
corporate contexts was significantly associated with the extent to which cross-
cultural training was received by the expatriates. Corporate size does not seem to
matter, and neither does international stake nor international experience. The
munificence of these corporate surroundings is not substantial enough to promote
cross-cultural training. In other words, there must be other circumstances why
certain organizations provide their expatriates with this type of training on a
routine basis. It has been noted that many companies are disappointed in cross-
cultural training because of their own experiences (cf. Selmer, 2001). Others are
discouraged by practical restrictions such as insufficient time available for
training (cf. Mendenhall & Oddou, 1985). Yet others are hesitant to undertake
cross-cultural training because the potential return is difficult to quantify
(cf. Harvey, 1983).
On the other hand, examining the different types of training separately,
generated a more clear picture. All three investigated aspects of the parent
corporate context were, disappointingly, unrelated to both predeparture and
postarrival cross-cultural training. But international experience, depicted by the
number of countries of operations of the parent corporation, showed a positive
association with sequential training. Since an individual’s capacity for efficient
learning ebbs and flows during the expatriate period, sequential cross-cultural
training progresses in steps starting at predeparture and continuing to the
postarrival phase. Sequential training would provide continuous guidance for
the incremental restructuring of the expatriate’s frame of reference towards
greater consistency with the host culture. The concept of sequential cross-
cultural training suggests that timing and content should be consistent with the
psychological receptivity of the expatriate, as it develops throughout the foreign
assignment. Hence, there is a sequencing of appropriate training methods at
different training periods, so that learning from one phase enhances the learning
in later phases (Selmer et al., 1998). Recent research has stressed the
importance of continuing cross-cultural training (cf. Gudykunst et al., 1996;
Mendenhall, 1999; Eschback et al., 2001; Osland & Bird, in press). Others have
also argued that cross-cultural training may be even more effective when
delivered after the expatriate has arrived in the host country than prior to the
foreign assignment (cf. Black et al., 1999; Mendenhall, 1999). Consequently,
the findings of this study suggest that internationally experienced corporations
may provide their expatriates with adequate support for their foreign
assignments. This is an encouraging revelation, presumably in the best interest
of these globally versed organizations. Although this investigation only covers
cross-cultural training, one could speculate that internationally experienced
corporations may also be superior in handling other aspects related to their
48 J. Selmer

business operations abroad in general, and different tasks in their management

of expatriates in particular.

Limitations
Common to all investigations, this study may have some potential shortcomings
worth considering when interpreting the results. Firstly, single method variance
could have affected the results since all data was self-reported. However, the
common condemnation of all methods involving self-reports has been found to be
exaggerated (Crampton & Wagner, 1994), and in this study, the data representing
both the dependent and independent variables are all based on non-sensitive
factual information. Hence, in this case, respondents do not have much incentive
to try to give biased responses by following a cognitive set of rules in evaluating
items intended to measure constructs that are supposed to be conceptually
different (Lord & Maher, 1991).
Despite the factual character of the questions, it cannot be completely ruled out
that responses were unbiased. Due to social desirability, respondents may, to
protect the prestige of their organization, have exaggerated their responses to the
question about receiving cross-cultural training. Such bias typically results in a
compressed response range (Podsakoff & Organ, 1986). However, upon
inspection of the data, no compression of response range was found.
Another circumstance that may restrict the interpretation of the results is how
some of the variables were operationalized. For example, only the presence or
absence of training was measured. This simplification ignores the type of training
provided, whether it was language focused training or training in ‘soft skills’such as
relational and sensitivity skills (cf. Harris & Brewster, 1999). Only measuring the
international experience of corporations disregards the extent and kind of foreign
management experience of the business expatriates in the sample.

Implications
For business. There are some obvious implications for international corporations
of these findings. Practice makes perfect: experience gained from engaging in
international business and management could improve the choice of the type of
cross-cultural training the expatriates of the corporation receive. On the other
hand, it may be prudent for firms not to blindly follow practices of big
corporations assuming that they necessarily must be doing the right thing in not
training their expatriates. Similarly, it may be unwise to assume that corporations
with much at stake internationally know what they are doing when they do not
provide cross-cultural training for their expatriates.

For theory development. The level of conceptual development of the relationship

between organizational circumstances and the provision of cross-cultural training
of expatriates is negligible. However, the findings of this study evoke some useful
theoretical issues and questions. Although the results seem to suggest that some
parent corporate contexts are not being munificent to expatriate cross-cultural
training, more can be done to try to identify organizational circumstances that
 Munificence of Parent Corporate Contexts 49

promote such training. For example, do corporations’ early positive experiences

with cross-cultural training successively create a general support at headquarters
for such programmes leading to development of new expatriation routines and
procedures incorporating such training? Does the apparent success with cross-
cultural training of other corporations in the same industry or foreign market lead to
adoption of the same (best) practices? Does careful planning of the process of
expatriation, providing more time for preparations in general, result in more
expatriates undergoing cross-cultural training? If firms have more top managers
with international assignment experience, does that also facilitate their assessment
of the potential benefits of cross-cultural training? Such theoretical propositions
can be empirically tested in future research. Another suggestion is to test the
generalizability of the findings by replicating the study in (an)other host location(s).
As mentioned above, China could be a culturally challenging host country for
western business expatriates, justifying a thorough cross-cultural training approach
to equip expatriates with the required skills. However, the cultural differences may
just be too dramatic, and due to time and resource constraints, the parent
corporations may tend to abandon any ambitions to train their managers in the
language and culture of China. The findings of this study support such a scenario
since only 24 per cent of the expatriates had received any cross-cultural training
(see Table 2). That is much lower than a recently published survey, including 150
US and other western firms, which reported that 69 per cent of the companies
provided training with an average participation rate of the expatriates of 67 per cent
(Global Relocation Services, 2002). This indicates that, on average, 46 per cent of
the expatriates received cross-cultural training. Hence, a replication of the study in
less demanding host country surroundings would be a worthwhile endeavour.

Conclusion
This study contributes to the literature on cross-cultural training of business expatriates.
Surprisingly, the findings of this investigation suggest that corporate size, international
stake and international experience are irrelevant contexts of the parent corporation in
promoting cross-cultural training in general. However, international experience was
found to be positively associated with a specific training type: sequential cross-cultural
training. Since this is a continued type of training highly recommended in the literature,
globally familiar corporations may be on the right track in supporting their business
expatriates for successful foreign assignments and operations abroad.

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